Who Mourns for Methuselah?
by Tetsuwan Penguin
Summary: 80 some years after the original Astro Boy canon, Astro buries his late wife Cora. He thinks back on the past with his siblings and offspring, and wonders what he will do with what remains of his life. Some theme ideas from Asimov's "Positronic Man" in my head canon for this. Thank you Astro Forever for the Photo Shop Artwork.
1. Chapter 1

**Who Mourns for Methuselah?**

_A.N. There have been many fan speculations on what happens to Astro in the future. In Tezuka's canon he remains a child forever, and clearly all the humans that he knows will age and die while he remains. But even a robot will not live forever, his parts will wear out and his energy source will require replacement. Tezuka actually presented two possibilities; one where he eventually gives his life to save humanity, and one where he ends up either in storage or in a museum as an obsolete robot, perhaps to be rediscovered in the future._

_I imagined a canon where Astro has the ability to grow and mature into an adult. Tezuka did hint at that idea in another way in two stories with robots that periodically had their AI transferred into newer bodies. However technology now gives us another option, which I've made use of in this story. _

_This fan fiction takes place some 80 years in the future from the time frame of the Astro Boy canon. Our hero has grown up, taken a wife (!) and had two children. He is now a great-grandfather about to see the birth of his first great-great grandchild. The story opens on a sad occasion as he looks back on his life._

_Please note that Astro Boy is the creation of Osmau Tezuka, and all rights to him belong to Tezuka Productions._

* * *

**Chapter 1**

**"Do robots live forever?"** Astor Boyton looked down at his son and smiled.  
"I don't know son. I guess it's easier to make spare parts for a robot than it is a human being so I suppose you could just go on repairing a robot forever. But you know, right now the oldest robot hasn't lived as long as the oldest person."  
"So will I live longer than you?" Nine year old Adam Boyton asked his father.  
I really don't know. But I hope so son. I hope you live a long and happy life!"

Astor turned his head to glance at Adam. That conversation had occurred many years ago, Adam was now a grandfather himself. How beautiful his daughter in-law looked sitting next to Adam, even with her now silver hair. How the years had melted away! Astor himself had had a long and wonderful life, he was now only months away from seeing his first great-great-grand child.

Now in his 90's, Astor's well known spiked hair had turned gray and his his hairline had receded somewhat, making his distinctive 'widows peak' a thing of the past. He hadn't flown in many years now, and he wondered if he was still able to do so. Astor still had a good deal of his 100,000 horsepower strength, he had recently helped change a tire for a stranded motorist by lifting the vehicle off the ground when a jack was not available.

The rumble of the limousine's tires against the concrete roadway was soothing and Astor found himself drifting into a daydream.

* * *

**He** had been born as Tobio Tenma, the son of the infamous scientist and engineer that single handedly had started the robot revolution. There had been robots before Uma Tenma, but not until he added his touch to the art had robots become more than dumb slaves that had to be constantly watched and supervised.

Astor didn't remember his mother very well. Hoshie Tenma had left one day, never to return. She divorced Uma in absentia, and passed away shortly thereafter. Astor could only guess that his father's workaholic ways were the cause. Tobio might not see his father for days at a time, while he was working late advancing the robot art. The boy was well cared for by his robot nanny, Nora. Nora kept the house spotless, cooked wonderful meals, and took care of the boy's every need. However, she wasn't a mother, and couldn't give Tobio the one thing he really wanted, a parents love. When Dr. Tenma was at home, he tried to more than make up for not being with his son, and Tobio loved his dad. Uma Tenma would buy Tobio all sorts of toys and games. The boy had plenty of material things, but what he really wanted most was more of his father's time.

One day Tobio decided to go out and buy his father a present for father's day. Something that he hoped would get him more of Dr. Tenma's attention. Tobio went out to the shopping mall on his hover-scooter, the same one that he had recently received for his ninth birthday. On the way home, an out of control truck collided with his scooter, crushing it and the boy. Tobio lay in the hospital for several days in a near coma before he died. Dr. Tenma had saved the essence of Tobio's mind and his memories, transferring them into the computer brain of a new kind of robot that he was perfecting. He rebuilt his invention as a copy of his son, and he called the robot Tobio.

Tobio as a robot, tried hard to be the boy that had died. Astor often wondered of what could have been if his father had been more patient. He had been a bit ahead of his time, and his creation wasn't perfect enough for him. As a result, Tenma went mad and set fire to his lab and his house. He left his robot son in the hands of a salesman who tried to market him as the "mighty atomic robot", or just "Mighty Atom". Luckily the new head of the Institute of Science, Dr. Ochanomizu, found him, and adopted him. He ended up being a hero many times over, using his 'super powers' to aid the police, fire-rescue, and even the military. The press nick-named him "Astro Boy" and it stuck. To his friends and family, he was just 'Astro'.

And he did have a family, It seemed Dr. Tenma had created a failed prototype for Astro and it was found buried in the basement of the IOS. Dr. Ochanomizu repaired this robot, that looked quite a bit like Astro, and named him Cobalt. Astro's foster dad also built him a sister, who was named Uran. But Ochanomizu's greatest invention was a microscopic robotic self replicating machine. These 'nanites' could be injected into a robot where they worked like human antibodies, repairing anything that started to wear out. The nanites could also do something else, they could slowly modify a robot's structure in the same way that human cells multiply and reproduce as a child grows into adulthood. This meant that Astro, Cobalt, and Uran would not stay in their child form forever, they would grow up like human children. If Dr. Tenma had figured this out, maybe he would have accepted Astro as his son, instead of going insane.

Astro was one of the first robots to be enrolled in school along with human children. He was accepted as a friend by his fellow students, and adored by his teachers. In Astor's daydream he remembered his schoolmates Kenichi, Tamao, and especially Reno. Whenever Astro had managed to damage himself in battle protecting others, Reno had often been able to repair him well enough for him to make it back home.

It was in high school that he met the woman that would become his wife. The idea of a human and a robot falling in love would have sounded as an ungodly idea years earlier. However robots had already started using biotechnology, and Astro was fitted with such. He was actually able to father children with a human female, and his body was no longer distinguishable from a human, except under very close examination.

At this point he wanted to make a new beginning for himself, and leave the robot boy image behind him. Using a play on words, he legally changed his name to Astor Boyton, which was a slur on 'Astro Boy'. So Astor Boyton took Cora Smith for his bride and they raised a family. Their first child was a boy who they named Adam, a slur on 'Atom', the name that Astro was first known by as a robot. The Boytons also had a girl, who they named Hoshie after Tobio's mother.

Both of his children had married and had children and grandchildren of their own. Three generations of humans who could trace their ancestry back to a robot carrying the DNA of a human child whom he had been built in the image of. Tobio Tenma lived on in the lives of Astor's descendants.

Astor's thoughts turned to his original father, Dr. Tenma. The expression 'biological' father didn't exactly apply here, and 'creator' sounded too much like something out of gothic novel, so he left it at that. Uma Tenma had been committed to a mental hospital after being apprehended for arson. Astro had refused to testify against him on charges of cruelty to robots, so those criminal charges were never pressed. For many years Astro had visited his original father in the hospital, and Astor had been there when the man died. Officially Tenma's cause of death was listed as a heart failure, but Astor knew he had died from guilt, loneliness, and a broken heart.

* * *

**The Limousine** bounced over a pothole and the jolt shook Astor awake. That had all been so many years ago, a lifetime in fact. He'd lost track of Cobalt and Uran a while ago. His older brother had been in charge of the first moon base and later moved on to the Mars colony. Uran had been traveling the globe working with efforts to preserve many endangered species of animals. Astor had been getting regular emails from both of them, but recently they had suddenly stopped. He tried to contact both his siblings to inform them of his bad news, but had not got any answer.

The Limousine slowed down as it entered the cemetery. Up ahead he could see the hearse had already stopped and Cora's casket was being removed. Astor and his immediate family got out of the vehicle. Hoshie and her husband were in the car behind the limousine. Astor, Adam, and Hoshie's husband Simon, performed as three of the pallbearers to move the coffin from the hearse to the grave site. "_It's horrible for a parent to outlive their children_", Astor thought to himself, but he realized that within twenty years or so he would be attending several more funerals for his offspring. Astor might be showing his age, but baring an accident, he could be expected to be around for at least another half a century, or longer.

Astor stood next to his two children and their spouses as the grave side ceremony commenced. His eyes teared up as the coffin containing his beloved Cora was lowered into the ground. As was the custom of his wife's religion, each of the relatives of the deceased picked up a shovel and put several loads of dirt into the grave. Astor was the last to pick up the tool, and he slowly emptied the pile of dirt left for the purpose, into the grave.

"Dad, you don't have to finish the job" Adam said, gently taking the shovel out of his hands.  
"I guess my old self resurfaced for a bit there er?" Astor said putting his arm over his son's shoulder.  
"Please walk me back to the car, son." he asked.

As the Limousine left the cemetery Adam studied his father's face.  
"What are you going to do now Dad?" he asked.

"I don't really know. Caring for your mother was the last task that I was fully involved in. Everyone else that I ever knew is gone now. I know I cried my eyes out when Dr. Ochanomizu passed away. I still miss Higeoyaji deeply. I still remember my boyhood friends Reno, Kenichi, and Tamao, though until today, I haven't thought about them for many years. I wish I knew what happened to Cobalt and Uran. I feel like I've lived three lives. I just don't know if I have the will to keep going." Astor sighed.

"Why don't you move in with us?" Adam asked. His wife nodded in agreement.

"Perhaps." Astor said, though he knew that in doing so he would soon be taking care of his son and daughter in law, rather than them taking care of him.

* * *

Later that evening Astor got some of his things from his apartment and started to move in with Adam and Emily. They had a small house with a spare bedroom. There was a pond that fronted on their back yard. After dark, Astor folded several sheets of paper into small boats. He placed a stub of candle in each of them and lighting the candles, floated the boats in the pond. He watched as they drifted, the lights were like small stars floating on the surface of the water. Astor looked up into the sky at the stars. Somewhere up there, maybe Uma, Cora, Hoshie, Ochanomizu and Higeoyaji were up in heaven, along with Reno, Kenichi, Tamao, and everyone else he had ever known. His eyes lacrimated, and the moisture rolled down his cheeks.


	2. Chapter 2

**Who Mourns for Methuselah?**

_This fan fiction takes place some 80 years in the future from the time frame of the Astro Boy canon. Please note that Astro Boy is the creation of Osmau Tezuka, and all rights to him belong to Tezuka Productions._

**Chapter 2**

**Just before** they were ready to retire for the night, the doorbell rang. Adam looked through the viewer to see who was visiting them at this late hour and smiled. He opened the door and greeted his Aunt and Uncle. Cobalt and Uran stood there, looking just a bit embarrassed.  
"Sorry about the hour, I know it's late but can we come in?" Cobalt asked. Uran just nodded.

"Of course!" Adam said. "Why don't you stay for the night, I can always put out the spare futons in the living room." Astor gave his long lost siblings a hug. Cobalt and Uran had both aged in appearance since Astor had last seen them. Uran's hair was silver now and her facial skin was wrinkled like Astor's. She still had a spring to her step though, her travels kept her fit. Cobalt's hair line had receded and grayed as much as Astor's, and he had a bald spot on the top of his head.

"Where have you two been hiding? I guess you did get my email" Astor asked.

"I'm sorry I couldn't make it for the funeral." Cobalt said. "I jumped on the fastest rocket available. NASA owed me a good deal of back pay so I exchanged it for a ticket on one of the new 0.7C ships. I had to catch an SST from Australia, and that's where I met up with Uran." Cobalt explained.

"It was kinda freaky. I never got your emails Astor, my Internet connection never worked worth a Dingos kidneys in the outback. I had to drive over to the spaceport to meet up with a colleague returning from the moon when I ran into Cobalt." Uran laughed.

"Literally! She wasn't looking where she was going, just like she always did as a kid, and we collided. I told her about our sister in law, and we both caught the next plane here." Cobalt said. "I'm really sorry to hear about your loss, Bro."

"Me to Astor." Uran said. "Anyway we figured you'd be staying at Adam's house, at least for the seven day mourning period."

"Yeah that's right. I had forgot about that." Astor said. "Anyway, Adam invited me to stay here rather than be alone at home."  
Astor looked over the room that his son had set aside for him.  
"Uran, why don't you sleep in my room. I'll crash with Cobalt on one of the futons in the living room." He suggested.

"Thanks Astor" Uran said, giving her brother a kiss on the cheek. "I know you will probably want to talk all night with him anyway."

* * *

**Everyone retired** for the night. Adam moved the living room furniture around to make room for the two futons, and then Astor tried to get some sleep. Cobalt however, was a bit talkative, as he had really missed his brother.  
"I'm really going to miss her, Astor. I always thought of Cora as my own sister, along with Uran of course. I really wish I had could have spend more time with the two of you. I've rarely seen my immediate family since I took that job with NASA, but I had to get away, it was just too painful for me on Earth." Cobalt lamented.

"I never did understand why you disappeared like that, Coby. When Atlas, Mars, Bender and I came back from that road trip that served as Atlas's bachelor party, you had already left for astronaut school. What happened?"

"I guess I just lost it when Atlas proposed to Epsilon, and she accepted. I never told you, and I guess you never caught on. I really had a crush on that bad red robot. Then I met another 'bot who was already in training for the robot astronaut core. So I joined up." Cobalt said.

"Gee Bro, you could have told me! I wouldn't have thought any less of you. What happened to your partner, you still together on Mars?" Astor asked.

"No, he was killed when the new rocket he volunteered to flight test blew up on the pad. That was decades ago, I've been single ever since. Married to my career now, but I'm thinking of retiring. You know, I heard of Uran's globe trotting, but I never did find out why she ran off." Cobalt said.

"You know, every time we talked I tried to tell you about our sister's adventures, and you always changed the subject on me." Astor said.

"Well Uran and I did exchange emails, and we talked when I could get a line to her, but she never wanted to tell me about why she left home. I guessed it was a painful subject for her." Cobalt replied.

Someone knocked on the door frame to the living room entrance. It was Uran.

"Hey Sis, why are you still up?" Astor asked.

"You two are talking up a loud storm and are keeping me awake." She complained. "Besides, my ears are starting to burn."

"Yeah, I was about to tell Coby why you left home after he did." Astor admitted.

"Why don't you let me tell him my sob story." Uran said.

"OK Sis, I'm all ears!" Cobalt said.

"Well you guys remember what happened right after that atomic freezing bomb went off don't you?" Uran asked.

"Yeah, you went ballistic after Mars planted a wet one on you?" Cobalt laughed.

"Coby, you are so lucky you were gone by the time I figured out you were in on his gag!" Uran said waving a fist. "Anyway, by the time you guys got back from your road trip, I wasn't angry at him, you Coby, or Reno anymore. In fact, I really missed that little twerp."

"Yeah, you somehow found out exactly where and when we were coming back from that trip and you lay in wait for us." Astor laughed. "As soon as Mars walked past where you were hiding you jumped him and locked lips with him for a good ten minutes!"

"Yeah, I did that all right. And it wasn't hard tracking your route. All I had to do was Google for the police reports! Anyway, Mars and I were engaged to be married a week later. It was his idea to honeymoon in Africa near a game preserve. He knew protecting endangered species was something important to me. Well, we ran into some bad ass elephant poachers who were after Ivory, and Mars had to be the hero. He saved me and the preserve ranger from an elephant stampede and got trampled and crushed. This time Reno wasn't there to revive him." Uran sobbed. "I hardly came back home after that, though I did try and keep in touch with both of you guys. Astor was easy to find, you Coby, not so much."

* * *

**Astor work up** alone in the living room. He heard voices in the kitchen and found Uran, Cobalt, Adam and Emily sitting at the kitchen table drinking coffee. He then noticed the large Yahrzeit candle which was sitting in the middle of the table on a metal lid from a large can. He assumed that Emily had lit it before retiring for bed the night before.

"Good morning Dad. Sleep well?" Adam asked.

Astor really didn't know when he had finally fallen asleep, or if Uran and Cobalt had ever got any sleep themselves. He did remember having a fitful dream. It was as if his mind had played back his entire life with Cora; from the very first time they had kissed to his standing by her hospital bed when she finally succumb to the cancer that had been in remission for so long.

"I had a restless night. I know I slept some because I can remember dreaming, but I don't feel well rested." Astor replied.

"I guess that's to be expected. I miss Mom mom too, but it's not the same. She was your constant companion for so long." Adam said, giving his father a hug.

"Coffee?" Emily asked, holding out a cup for her Father in Law.

"I guess so" Astor replied, accepting it. Emily filled his cup and Astor took a sip. He smiled, it was good Java.

Hoshie and Simon came over after breakfast. They didn't live too far away and could walk over to be with their father.

Astor had never been religious, but he had accepted Cora's customs and didn't object to attending temple with Cora, or their children going to the religious school. So when the Rabbi came over with some members of the temple to conduct morning services for the family, he joined in. His computer brain could still read over 100 different written languages, including the Hebrew prayer books. The temple had sent over three wooden crates for Astor, Adam, and Hoshie to sit on, the mourning custom was to sit only on low, uncushioned stools, and the boxes were of the right height.

"They don't look very comfortable," Cobalt said pointing to the boxes.

"That's the idea," Adam replied.

Some of the temple members had brought over platters of food. Mostly sandwiches, cut fruit, and pastries. The custom was for friends of the bereaving to bring over food so those that were mourning wouldn't have to prepare any for themselves. That evening when the Rabbi returned with the rest of the minion for the evening's prayers, a few more platters arrived.

Emily invited Hoshie and Simon to stay for the night. Hoshie roomed with Uran, and Simon said he'd be comfortable enough with just some blankets on the floor of the living room. Cobalt told him to take the futon, and that he'd be fine on the floor. "My metal keister doesn't need much padding," He said.

Astor was going to say something there, but he knew his brother would insist on him having the futon.

* * *

**It was another **restless night, for Astor. He kept having vivid dreams, and both Simon and Cobalt snored, Cobalt the loudest!  
When he did nod off, Astor was back in school as a kid. He remembered the day that as Astro, he first met Cora. Cora didn't know him as a robot at first, not until the day that he saved her life. Cora was being stalked by one of the school bullies. She was sunbathing on the roof of her parent's apartment house when Shib found her up there and chased her. She lost her footing and flipped over the low knee wall at the edge. Astro saw her fall off the roof from a mile away, and caught her in mid air. They were inseparable ever since.

**Astor's dreams** were also invaded by his own bullies. He and Atlas had been mortal enemies when they first met. He didn't find out till much later that his own original father had created Atlas to take the place of a tycoon's spoiled brat of a son. Atlas had started out in the delinquent's image, he later obtained the ability to morph at will into a super villain with all of Astro's powers. It was only after Atlas was at loose upon the city, that Tenma had been arrested and sentenced to life in the mental hospital. Eventually, Atlas mellowed. He still looked down on humanity, but in time of dire need, he often did end up fighting at Astro's side. They still didn't see eye to eye most of the time, and often enough a fist fight still would break out between the two of them. What had changed was the amount of property damage that caused. Astor only later found out who had brokered the peace between Atlas and the world. Cobalt. Who'd a thunk that? Astor felt sorry for what had happened to Atlas. He wondered if he should tell Cobalt or not.

**Another dream** invaded Astor's slumber and he tossed and turned in the futon, something he rarely did. He was back at home with Ochanomizu. It was his birthday, though he now wondered how his foster father had figured out just WHAT date that was. He still didn't know if that was the date that Tobio was born, or Atom was first powered up. It didn't really matter though. Anyway, he ran out of his room when Ochanomizu called him, and saw a large box lying on the floor tied up with a huge bow. He had no idea what he had been given, hadn't even thought of using his X-ray vision to see inside. He opened the box, like a kid at Christmas. No sooner than he lifted the lid, he was being hugged and kissed by a little 'bot almost a foot shorter than himself.  
"Hi big brother!" the little girl squee'd at him. That was how Uran had become part of his family. Cobalt was still buried in the sub basement of the IOS, they wouldn't find him until a few months after Uran was built.

**What a trouble maker** his sister had been! Astor now recalled how as Astro he had to rescue her from the robot wrestling league, and how he had had to defeat the current champion in order to get her out of there. There was also the day that Astro had broken up a fight between her and a classmate that nearly destroyed the school building. Uran and the little brat that she had picked a fight with were both suspended from school for a week. Astor now found that funny. Years later she married that little brat!

* * *

**The early morning sun** pouring in between the slats of the window blinds woke him. Simon and Cobalt were still sleeping, snoring soundly. He walked into the kitchen, which was empty. The tall Yahrzeit candle had only burned down an inch or so, with nearly a foot remaining. He calculated it would easily burn for the required seven days. He figured that his siblings and their spouses would probably wake soon, so he filled the coffee maker with water and ground coffee, and turned it on. Soon the smell of Java filled the kitchen, and drifted toward the bedrooms. It wouldn't be long before the rest of the family was awake.

_A.N. I've mixed in my own feelings, considering that the High Holidays are upon us. It was about four years ago that I buried my own father, I can relate to how Astor is feeling and what is running through his mind. _

_Please leave a review here, or a comment on ABOL under 'fan creations'. Once again I find myself in new waters, author wise. Help me navigate. Thanks!_


	3. Chapter 3

**Who Mourns for Methuselah?**

___This fan fiction takes place some 80 years in the future from the time frame of the Astro Boy canon. Please note that Astro Boy is the creation of Osmau Tezuka, and all rights to him belong to Tezuka Productions._

**Chapter 3**

**The week's time passed slowly**, during which Astor spent his time reminiscing with his siblings and children, as well as searching his own soul for memories. A phone call came in with the news of the birth of his first great-great-granddaughter, Lilly. There was also an email for Cobalt that had resulted in a bit of secret conversation between him and Uran, which Astor expected he would hear about soon.

Sure enough, Cobalt and Uran together approached Astor as he was packing the small suit case that he had brought with him the evening of the funeral.  
"You've decided not to stay with Adam and Emily?" Cobalt asked him.

"I'm still not sure. I have other luggage at home that I will pack if I do decide to bring the rest of my belongings over here. Right now I'd like to spend some time alone at my own home before I return, assuming I do move in with my son. I need some time to think." Astor said. "I assume you and Uran are heading out now yourselves."

"That's what we'd like to talk to you about." Uran said.

"I got an email a few days ago from the space agency. The Terraforming on Mars has been going very well. In fact, it is several years ahead of schedule, and they are considering the introduction of some more Earth species of both plants and animals." Cobalt explained

"This time they are going to include some of the endangered species of animals that we've had a bit of bad luck with on Earth." Uran added. "I'm going to join my brother on Mars. I've been offered the lead on this project, and I've decided that I'm going to accept it."

"That's great!" Astor said. "I can't think of a better pair to get that job done."

"Astor, there is one more thing." Cobalt said. "I've been asked to look for someone to assist with the logistics of the effort. Uran will be handling the actual work with the animals and plants, you know the animal husbandry and biology stuff. I've been offered the position of Mars base commander, following the promotion of the current commander to an off planet position. We still need someone to oversee the remaining Terraforming operation. I had been filling in with that, but now I will be too busy as base commander. I'd like you to join me and take over that position."

Astor's jaw dropped. He was about to say something about not wanting to leave his family behind when Uran interrupted.

"Astor I think you should take that position, you'd be good at it. If you say here you'll just be sulking in self pity. Your family adores you, but they've also grown apart from you. That's the problem with 'greats', we get thought of as fossils. The youngers are very tightly knit together, they prefer to see us once in a while, but not all the time. I know that's a bitter pill to swallow, but it's the truth." she said.

Astor thought about that. In the past few years, Adam and Hoshie were the only ones that kept in regular conversation with him, the rest of the family he heard from only on birthdays and holidays. The younger ones were too busy with their own immediate lives, and he understood that. He also realized that Uran, Cobalt, and himself would still be around long after his flesh and blood family had passed on. He would eventually have only his memories to keep him company. Maybe it was time to move on and start the next phase of his existence before he had nothing left.

"When are you two leaving?" Astor asked.

"Probably in a month or two. The base will send me another email when they are ready to actually start the project. Uran will have to take care of the initial details on Earth for the selection and transport of the plants and animals that will be introduced first. We'll need you on Mars sooner to help make sure that everything is ready for their arrival. I think the two of us will travel together and Uran will meet us later." Cobalt said.

"That should give me enough time to get ready." Astor replied. "In the meanwhile, why don't the two of you move in with me. I have a spare bedroom, so we won't be crowded. I'll need to put the apartment on the market. At least the units in my complex are in demand and are selling quickly. If I'm lucky maybe I can close on it before we leave."

"OK." Uran said. "That does solve one problem for me."

"Me too." Cobalt said.

* * *

**During the next few weeks **Astor made the rounds visiting all of his grandchildren. They were all outwardly happy to see him and they all expressed their sorrow for his loss, but Astor could see that Uran was right. He had become a bit of a relic, admired and looked up to perhaps, but something of a living bit of family history in any case.

"Are you sure about this Dad?" Adam asked. "Emily and I would really love to have you stay with us."

"I'm sure son. As much as I don't want to admit it, I'm going to be around long after you and Emily are gone. Losing Cora was very painful to me, but it was also a normal part of human existence. Having to bury you would seem very unnatural to me. We'll keep in touch if you want to, but I think I need to move on and find what's next for me. I've come to realize that Cobalt and Uran are all that I will eventually have left in the future. Our three lives are intertwined in ways that we never realized until now." Astor gave his son and daughter in law each a hug.

"I suppose you might go back to using the name Astro again?" Adam suggested.

"Either that or Atom." Astor shrugged. "Or I might just call myself something else. But you are correct. I think Astor's existence is about over. Under that name I was almost human for nearly 80 years. But in the face of the mortality of everyone I ever loved, I now realize that deep inside, I'm still a robot after all."

* * *

**Astor and Cobalt** had their bags packed for their trip to Mars. They had delayed their voyage as long as possible, and the fact that NASA had made two berths on a 0.7C ship available to them had given them more time to spend on Earth. Uran was still taking care of details on the Earth end of the project, she was now scheduled for Mars departure in a month's time. Her voyage would take nearly half a year's flight time as the cargo ship bringing the plants and animals was a standard rocket flight.

The day of departure arrived, and the three siblings met at the spaceport.  
"Don't worry about your apartment, Astor," Uran said. "I'll be handling the closing for you about a week before I need to leave. I'll be staying at the Cape after that, until I leave. I'll see you guys in about seven months!"

Uran spent at least ten minutes with her goodbyes to Cobalt and Astor, and she stood and watched as her two brothers boarded the space liner for Mars. Only after the final boarding call, and the closing of the hatch did she turn and leave.

* * *

**It was **Astor's first trip into space in nearly 80 years. The acceleration didn't bother him, though from the look on Cobalt's face he realized that his brother was not as comfortable. Astor remembered that Cobalt had never been able to fly on his own, he had either used strap on jetpacks attached to his boots, or had been carried aloft by Astro. In either case, Cobalt had been a pilot or a passenger. As Astro, Astor had been like a bird, flying had been part of his being. That was something he now realized he had missed.

**The trip to Mars** took about a week, much less than the six months that would have been required by conventional rocket. Although the space liner was called a 0.7C ship, in reality it didn't travel quite that fast. It took time to accelerate to 70% light speed, and they couldn't stay at the velocity for very long before they started to decelerate back to 'normal' speed for landing. In a way, the voyage had been like taking an ocean liner from NY to England. True, the entertainment wasn't quite as good and the food was still the usual NASA space fare, but it wasn't all business like the crew taking the cargo ships were subject to. Cobalt, who had never known life as anything other than from a robot's point of view, spent most of the travel time reading reports from the Mars base. Astor, on the other hand, spent his time with the human passengers, keeping himself amused.

The approach for landing was uneventful. Astor remembered how as Astro he had been in charge of one of the first expeditions to Mars following the failure of the very first maned exploration attempt. Robots were still being treated as slaves in those days, and it had raised quite a few eyebrows back then when then NASA director Moss had put him in charge of a space command. Following the discovery of an alien invasion force from outside of the the solar system, Astro had earned the respect of his fellow astronauts. That was also the turning point for his career in the IOS, and his world wide notoriety.

As the ship circled the planet before landing, Astor could see just how much had changed since he'd last been there. Green plants covered much of the equatorial zone of the planet. There were many lakes and some even larger bodies of open water. The Mars base, which had once been a small military like facility, was now a good sized city housing many colonists. The atmosphere was thicker, almost like on earth, but with higher oxygen content, and the sky was now a deep blue in color.

"Space suits and air tanks are no longer required outside of the base, Astor." Cobalt said. Astor's brother had been watching him look out of the ship's view port during the decent. "During the day the temperature near the equator, where the base is located, hovers at a comfortable 50 degrees F. At night, warm clothing is still necessary for the human personal, as the thinner atmosphere can't hold heat in as well as on Earth." he added.

As soon as they had disembarked from the space liner, the brothers headed for Cobalt's quarters at the Mars base. "I'm being moved into larger quarters in a few days." Cobalt told Astor. "Partly due to my increase in rank here, but also because there will now be two of us sharing the space."

Astor gave his brother a questioning look, but Cobalt waved him off.  
"Don't worry about it. I've requested a dual apartment. We will share a common area, but we also have our own separate set of rooms with separate doors. We can each avoid seeing each other if we want to, so you can have some privacy if you need it."

"You know I wasn't thinking that!" Astor told Cobalt.

"I know. I just want you to be comfortable, and have an easy time adjusting. If you need anything, I won't be far away." Cobalt said.

"Thanks Bro." Astor replied.

_A.N. Will someone please leave some comments in a review? What do you think of this vision of the future? Should robots like Astro live forever? I wonder if they want immortality. What do you think?_


	4. Chapter 4

**Who Mourns for Methuselah?**

___This fan fiction takes place some 80 years in the future from the time frame of the Astro Boy canon. Please note that Astro Boy is the creation of Osmau Tezuka, and all rights to him belong to Tezuka Productions._

**Chapter 4**

**The Day** after arriving at the Mars base, Astor and Cobalt reported in to the command center to register. It was Cobalt's first day as commander of the base, and he had lots of paperwork to fill out as he formally took over his new position. Astor had to fill out all sorts of paperwork himself as he was formally becoming a citizen of the Mars base, and transferring his resident status from Earth to Mars.  
"I feel like I've just become an immigrant or something" Astor told his brother.

"Well not exactly. Since the Mars base is under the jurisdiction of NASA it's sorta considered as US territory although the planet itself belongs to no country under international law. Someday, Mars will be considered an independent nation, I think an application to that effect has already been submitted to the UN." Cobalt replied.

Astor handed Cobalt one of the forms he had been filling out, and had just signed.

"What's this?" his brother asked.

"I think that's fairly obvious. It's my identity certificate request." Astor said.

"I can see THAT. What I don't understand is the name you've filled in."

"Yeah, about that. I feel like I'm making a new start here, but I also feel like I'm returning back in time as well. You've always used Ochanomizu as your surname, the Dr. was the only father you ever knew. Uran adopted Mars surname of Yamanoue after she married him. After his death, she never reverted back to using her maiden name. I had two fathers, and I finally made piece with Dr. Tenma just before his death. I had already changed my name to Astor Boyton and had gotten married to Cora by then. Now that I'm starting anew here, I decided to go back to my former title. At first, I was thinking of using the name Tobio since that's what my father called me when I was created, but that wouldn't be fair to the human boy who has been mostly forgotten. You know, I don't think his grave even has a headstone. I might be the only one who even knows where it is. Anyway, that's why I filled out my Id request as Atom Tenma." Atom replied.

"That's fine with me bro." Cobalt said. "You know, now that you mentioned it, I always wondered why Mars used Dr. Yamanoue's name as his surname. I always thought of Dr. Kawashimo as his real father. He was certainly a better person and a better father to the little guy."

"I think Mars may have felt the same way about Dr. Yamanoue that I did toward Dr. Tenma. By the time Mars had matured, he had made peace with Dr. Y. I guess it was his way of honoring the man after he died. I feel the same about Dr. Tenma." Atom said.

* * *

**The new** residence that Cobalt had been promised was ready later that day. The two brothers wasted no time moving in. Atom was pleased to find that it was just has his brother had described, and better. He had his own suite consisting of a bedroom, an office, bathroom facilities complete with a whirlpool bath, tub and shower, and a small kitchenette. The shared area had a dinning room, a large kitchen, and a living room complete with a huge TV screen, sound system, and several sofas and chairs to accommodate quite a few guests.

"This looks like the Ritz." Atom said.

"Yeah, I guess it will do." Cobalt dead panned.

"Where will Uran be housed?" Atom asked.

"Well, she won't get here for about a quarter of a year, but I've already put in a request for a nice apartment for her. She'll be staying on the other side of the planet most of the time though, that's where the first batch of transplants will be introduced to the terraformed areas of the planet." Cobalt answered.

"Wait, I thought she was due in about six months time?" Atom said.

"Yes, six EARTH months. When I said a quarter of a year, I meant that in Mars years. This planet takes almost two Earth years to go around the sun you know." Cobalt explained.

"Yeah, that is going to take some getting used to. At least the day here is almost the same length as back on Earth." Atom said.

* * *

**Cobalt **walked Atom over to where his office was.  
"I get an office?" he puzzled. "I thought I was going to be doing mostly field work."

"That is entirely up to you." Cobalt said. "All of the paperwork, the project reports, budget requests, personal assignments are your problems as well. Welcome to the bureaucracy! If you have any time left over after taking care of all of that, you can do as much field work as you like."

Atom found that there was a pile of paperwork on his desk already. Most would require little more than reading, a few comments, and his signature. He'd have to get familiar with the personal roster of all the people under his direct command of course.  
"Good thing I'm a speed reader." He sighed.

* * *

"**Come **with me and I'll introduce you to your team." Cobalt said.

The elder brother took the younger by the hand and dragged him out of the office. They boarded a tram which exited the main building of the base and glided along a paved roadway on the planet's surface. Each car of the tram was enclosed in a plastic bubble to contain a breathable atmosphere.  
"This transportation equipment goes back to before there was much atmosphere on Mars. Someday the pressurized bubbles on these cars won't be needed at all for human transportation. At the moment there are still a few areas on the planet that have barely enough oxygen content, especially at night. Also the pressure outside is somewhere between 5000 to 10000 feet Earth normal so many people feel a little dizzy if they stay out in the open too long."

As they whizzed along Atom could see that some of the Mars inhabitants were wearing simple respirators in the form of an O2 bottle and a nose clip.  
"How many robots are there in relationship to humans?" Atom asked.

"Actually there very few android robots here by percentage of the population. Maybe ten percent or so. There are many intelligent machines that humans used to call robots, of course." Cobalt answered. "But don't worry about being in charge of humans on Mars. This is one place where the kind of ill feeling between humans and robots that was common on Earth, never took hold."

The tram entered another building, one that was clearly not an office or living area facility. They passed storage areas for construction equipment, heavy machinery intended to move earth and rocks. Their transport came to a stop and they got out. A crew of about two dozen workers were gathered around tables and lockers. This was clearly a staging area where the workers gathered before setting out on their field assignments. Coffee, tea, juice, muffins and other breakfast items were laid out on one of the tables, and the group was taking advantage of it. As Cobalt approached a few of the people looked up and made eye contact with him, some waved a coffee cup or a hand in greeting. Cobalt took the moment to pass the baton of command to Atom.

"Good morning guys. I'd like to introduce you to my brother Atom, who will be taking charge of the terraforming operation. He has a bit to learn, and I hope you can guide him through his first few days."

One of the workers, an older man who looked to be in his upper 60's, yet quite fit and in good health, stepped forward and looked Atom over for a few moments. He scratched his chin in thought.  
"You remind me of someone, but I can't quite place it." He said.

"If so, it was on Earth, since I haven't been to Mars in nearly 80 years. What is your name?" Atom asked.

"Ketchup, Sir. My father was on the second expedition to this planet just about that long ago."

"Yes, I remember him, I was the commander on that mission. I thought he died fighting off the alien invaders that we barely defeated. He was reported to have died a hero." Atom said.

"Well Sir, the reports of his death were not quite true. He was found a few days after your expedition left the planet, badly injured but still alive. He returned to Earth on the next rocket. …. Wait a minute, now I remember. You're Astro Boy, aren't you? My father wrote all about you in his journal when he got back to Earth. He had a picture of you taken with him during the trip."

Atom's memory of the Mars mission flooded back to him. Ketchup's activity on the mission during the trip to Mars, had bordered on treason. Most of the expedition crew resented a robot being put in charge, especially a robot in the persona of a ten year old boy. Ketchup had sabotaged Atom's life line and he had drifted away from the ship while going EVA to make some repairs. However, the elder Ketchup had redeemed himself during the battle with the Alien invaders.

"Yes, I once went by that name. I called myself Astor Boyton for many years while I was married and had a family on Earth. After the recent death of my wife, I decided to join my brother with NASA and make myself useful on Mars." Atom said.

"Gee, I'm really sorry to hear about your loss sir. But you're luckier than me, I suppose. I never married, and I don't have any family left. I'll probably die and be buried here on Mars. This planet has been my home for about half a century now." Ketchup replied.

**With the **breakfast break over, the crew boarded the tram to head out to the field. Cobalt and Atom also took their place on the transport.  
"Might as well show you first hand what is going on in the Terraforming operation." Cobalt said.

It took the tram some twenty minutes to reach the work area. Some of the crew started up the heavy equipment that had been left overnight from yesterday's last work shift. The earth, or rather mars moving operations resembled life on a farm back on Earth, but on a somewhat larger scale. The Mars soil needed to be dug up, transported to a facility that would chemically treat it to make it compatible with Earth based biology, and then transport it back to be mixed in with the existing soils. By changing the Ph of the soil, and adding Earth base bacteria and spores the soil would slowly break down into a form that would support higher forms of plant life. Where this had already been done grasses and small shrubs were now growing. The more plant life that was seeded, the higher the oxygen content of the small world's atmosphere became.

**Atom and Cobalt **took one of the smaller Jeep like vehicles and visited several of the work sites in the area. Atom could see how the planet was slowly being transformed to support green plant life. In several areas there were small herbivore mammals roaming about, mostly rabbits, hamsters, and other rodent like creatures.  
"Once the population of these small mammals reaches a stable level the plan is to introduce some carnivores to the animal mix. Probably small cats and canines at first, but Uran will be handling that end of the program." Cobalt explained.

**Just ahead** of them one of the earth moving machines seemed to have got itself stuck. The operator slowly backed it up and then inched forward again, but the ground was unstable and the going was rough. Cobalt raised a pair of binoculars to his eyes to get a better look. Atom didn't need them, his eyes could zoom in closely with their built in telescopic vision.

"Parts of the Martian terrain are a bit hazardous with underground domes of softer material left over from the wetter periods of the planet's early days." Cobalt explained. "There are also soft areas that came into being due to the frequent sand storms that once regularly occurred. Now that the atmosphere is thicker, these storms have become somewhat rarer."

The earthmover seemed to have overcome the troublesome terrain, but as the operator again resumed his forward motion the machine suddenly began to sink below the surface as it fell into a very soft spot that was like a sinkhole back on earth.

"That's not good!" Cobalt cried as he turned the vehicle to head to the distressed machine.

"He's sinking rapidly!" Atom yelled "He needs help now, did the operator get out?"

"I don't see him." Cobalt said adjusting his binoculars.

Atom's old reflexes hadn't left him. He suddenly found himself a few hundred feet in the air, flying toward the machine. Only the very top of the earthmover was now visible, the rest had disappeared beneath the red Martian soil. Atom landed on the top of the machine and grabbed onto what looked like a suitable handhold. He poured on the rocket fuel and amazed himself that he still had the brute strength to lift the multi-ton machine with his leg jets. The red soil refused to let go of the earthmover at first, but Atom continued to fight it, and eventually he was carrying it about 50 feet off the ground. He looked for a solid spot to set it down, and landed slowly just yards from his brother in the Jeep.

"I guess you still have it in you, bro!" Cobalt smiled. "How did that feel?"

"Fantastic!" Atom said.

The operator of the machine cracked the hatch and stared at the two robots that had come to his aid.  
"Oh my God, I thought I was a goner there. Who the hell are you?" he asked Atom.

"I'm Atom Tenma, now in command of the Terraforming operation. If you look back in the history books, you might find that I was once known as Astro Boy."


	5. Chapter 5

**Who Mourns for Methuselah?**

___This fan fiction takes place some 80 years in the future from the time frame of the Astro Boy canon. Please note that Astro Boy is the creation of Osmau Tezuka, and all rights to him belong to Tezuka Productions._

_**Chapter 5**_

**Atom **lay back in the whirlpool tub with the circulation jets going full blast. Cobalt had sure thought of everything, the tub could be filled with plain water, or several different grades of oil depending on his need. Right now he was soaking in 10 weight light robot oil at 90 degrees C. The exertion that he had expended on his old body was now coming back to haunt him, like it or not he was out of shape! The hot oil was working its way into his joints and easing the aches and pains of his 'robot Charlie-Horse'. It had been a busy first day!

Just before he quit for the day, Atom had looked over the reports filed by the field personnel. Today's near disaster involving a sink hole almost swallowing up a piece of equipment wasn't the first. There had been several previous incidents over the past year, and the frequency of them had been increasing. Maybe it was because they had started to work in an area that was more subject to having subterranean soft spots, or maybe there was something else going on. He knew that it would be his responsibility to investigate.

* * *

**Cobalt **was an early riser, he was long gone from their suite by the time Atom woke up. Atom found his brother in his office when he arrived, already busy filling out the base reports.  
"Morning' Bro! What can I do for you?" Cobalt asked.

"Did you know about all of these sink holes?" Atom asked. "I didn't realize that what happened yesterday was so common place."

"Actually, yesterday was the first time that one of the machine operators had to be rescued. All of the other incidents were not as serious, or one machine was able to pull another one out of trouble. Yesterday was an exception since we had a single machine operating by itself. That was not normal protocol."

"I agree, I'm going to place an order that the crews should operate in pairs from now on." Atom said.  
"I also have another idea. We should examine each area with sonar before bringing in the heavy equipment so we can locate any soft spots ahead of time."

"Hey, that's a good idea. Only we don't have any sonar equipment suitable for land based probing. You'd need a low frequency sound source, most sound ranging and imaging equipment uses medium to high frequency sound. I know that back on earth they used explosives to generate sonar pulses to look for oil at one time." Cobalt remarked.

"Well I wouldn't want to use explosives here, the chemistry could damage some sensitive areas already planted." Atom said.

"I agree." Cobalt scratched his chin and then his eyes lit up. "I have another idea. We could use something like a pile driver."

"What?" Atom said.

"It's simple" his brother answered. "You drop a heavy weight from some height onto another heavy weight sitting on the ground. The resulting shock generates low frequency waves that penetrate deep into the ground, and you can image what's underground from the echoes that return."

"Do we have the equipment to build this?" Atom asked.

"I think so. There should be enough scrap metal in the recycle piles outside the base to construct something like that." Cobalt answered. "I'll draw up some blueprints and have the space marine corps engineers built it."

**Atom **wondered why his brother had wanted the desk job. Cobalt was a whiz at solving problems, he was a true engineer at heart. _He rather reminds me of Dr. Tenma,_ Atom thought. Cobalt ended up scaling down his original idea to a piece of equipment that could be carried by two to three men, or one strong robot. The device was a hollow tube about ten feet long with a pointed end that would be pushed into the ground. Inside was a 120 lb weight that would rise and fall inside of the tube. A fifty pound slab of metal was at the bottom that served as the ground spike. A small electric motor inside wound up on a slender rope attached to the weight. The repetition rate was about one pulse ever three seconds. Additional probes containing low frequency transducers would be planted in a circle around the 'thumper' to listen for echoes.

The first test of the thumper sonar device was in a few days after Cobalt produced the blueprints. Atom was pleased at the images that it gave, his crews were now able to locate soft areas under the Martian soil and avoid driving their heavy equipment over them. Atom assigned crews to map out any new areas several weeks before any Terraforming work would begin in them. The idea seemed to work, there were no more close calls with sinkholes for the next few months. It seemed that he had solved his first major problem on the job.

* * *

**Two Earth **months after the two brothers had settled into their new positions the first heavy transport from Earth arrived carrying supplies and equipment. Cobalt and Atom were at the unloading dock when the transport was being unloaded.  
"The first of the two giant electromagnets that I designed is on the manifest for this transport." Cobalt told Atom. "One of the problems that we've had in Terraforming Mars is it's almost total lack of any magnetic field. Earth is still geologically active billions of years after the formation of the solar system. This internal activity keeps the interior of the planet hot, drives plate tectonics that produce earth quakes and powers volcanoes, and also produces the magnetic field that surrounds the planet. The magnetic field shields the earth from the solar wind. Without that shield, the sun would soon strip the earth of its atmosphere. Mars lacks such a shield because the planet is burned out on the inside. I've worked out a design for a replacement magnetic field for Mars, using superconducting magnets. Once we unload the equipment from the rocket we are going to install the first of the two magnets at the north pole of the planet. The second magnet will arrive on a later transport and will be installed at the south pole."

"Wow, that sounds like quite a bit of engineering!" Atom gasped.

"It was." Cobalt agreed. "With only one magnet we will have a lopsided field around the planet, but it will cover most of the inhabited areas since there has been little development so far in the southern hemisphere. If it works, we will be able to increase the density of the planet's atmosphere enough to bring the Earth normal pressure altitude down from an average of about 7000 feet, to under 3000 feet. At that point, according to our sister, you should be able to introduce many avian species to the planet. Just think, being able to see flocks of wild birds flying on Mars!"

The size of the superconducting magnet was much greater than Atom imagined they would be. Each was about the size of a small house, and weighed about as much.

"I don't know if we can risk using an over land transport for those due to the danger from sink holes." Atom said.

"That's why your are going to scout out the way first using the thumper sonar device." Cobalt answered.

* * *

**It took** almost a month to transport the first magnetic device to the north Martian pole. Atom led the expedition to install the first of the devices, Cobalt remained behind, as base commander he couldn't justify leaving his post. He did keep in touch with Atom by radio, the communication satellites in orbit around Mars made reliable reception between the base and the expedition possible.

The going was slow as Atom had to periodically set up the thumper sonar device and map out the locations of possible sink holes. Sometimes they had to remap the route they were taking. Once they got above the 40th parallel the temperature and atmospheric pressure started to drop. Here they were out of the temperate belt of Mars and into the frigid half of the hemisphere. Unlike Earth, Mars was either warm or cold, there was no in-between. The planet was too far from the sun, the atmosphere was too thin and lacked the green house gases that Earth had. The human crew wore arctic like gear, respirators, and stayed in the heated cabins of the transport vehicles as much as possible. Some wore spacesuit like garments that contained built in heaters. The humans adapted well. Atom realized that he and Cobalt had forgotten just how resourceful mankind really was.

Once they reached the northern polar region of the planet Atom directed the uncrating operation. The plan had been to park the trailer into position and then lower it to the ground as the undercarriage was removed. It would have worked, except for the cold, the mechanical linkages froze solid. Atom stared at the mess and figured he'd have to get Cobalt's opinion on what to do next as soon as they could video conference by satellite link.

"I think the problem is the weight, Sir," The crew foreman said.

"What's that?" Atom asked him.

"The undercarriage won't slip out because of the weight. It worked in simulation under warmer conditions. If we could relieve some of the down weight of the trailer, the undercarriage could be pulled free, and then we could drop the thing in place. The problem is lifting it up just a bit, but we didn't bring a suitable crane with us."

"Hook up a hoist chain and cable." Atom told the foreman. "I'll lift it."

"How?" he asked.

"Some 80 years ago I tore a 200 story skyscraper in half, and I lifted the upper fifty floors off the top of the building to expose a destructive device built by a mad inventor. All of the machines in downtown Tokyo were going nuts and I had two minutes to find and destroy that machine. I flew through the building many times turning it into swiss cheese and then I grabbed onto the top of the building, tore it lose, and lifted it with my leg rockets. If I could somehow lift a quarter of a skyscraper, I can surely lift a house sized magnet on a trailer." Atom replied.

The work crew attached a few hundred feet of chain and cables to the trailer at the corners and attached a large grab hook to the very middle of it. Atom stripped down to just his briefs and flight boots and walked over to the trailer. He grabbed hold of the hook.

"Give me the signal when you guys are ready to pull the undercarriage free." He said.

The crew went to work attaching a set of chains to the undercarriage, and then hooked that up to a pair of tractors. A second set of cables was attached to the locking pins and two groups of men prepared to yank those free.  
"Ready Sir!" the foreman yelled.

Atom stood in silent meditation for a few seconds to gather his strength and will. It had been years since he'd performed such a feat of strength, this would be at least ten times the weight of the earthmover he had lifted a few months ago. Atom's leg rockets fired and he rose above the ground with the heavy cables in his hands. The slack was taken up and he felt the full weight nearly yanking his arms out of their sockets. He closed his eyes and grimaced. The chains and cables started to creak under the strain. Very slowly the trailer lifted.

"Almost got it!" The foreman yelled. "Just a tiny little bit more!"

"AGGHHH!" Atom yelled as the he applied some more power to the effort. His arm muscles strained to keep hold of the chain. The trailer's weight transferred off the undercarriage and onto the chain, and Atom's rocket thrust.

"NOW! The foreman yelled. Simultaneously one crew yanked on the unlocking pins while the other drove the tractors forward. The undercarriage slid out and the trailer was hanging free. Atom slowly lowered it down. He felt the weight depart as the base of the trailer slowly touched down on the ground. The magnetic device was in place and ready to be made operational.

The magnet was powered by a nuclear fusion reactor. This was one of the latest designs that could be left running, unattended, for over a year or longer (hopefully MUCH longer). Atom watched as his crew finished assembling the site, and then he entered the reactor hut by himself to power it up. The reactor wasn't actually considered dangerous, but there was a certain possibility of a bad startup condition that could put humans at risk and Atom was not going to expose his crew to even the slightest bit of danger. Besides, he was the most qualified nuclear engineer there, having read the manuals several times and worked though a holographic simulation of the device.

It was decided that the magnetic device would actually be turned on by remote control. No one was really sure just what effect that many gauss would have on the human body, and Atom was sure it wouldn't do HIM any good! The inverse square law predicted that they wouldn't have to get TOO far away to be safe, but Cobalt decided they should be at least a mile from the device before it was switched on.

It took Atom about an hour to finish powering up the fusion reactor. He double checked the controls and verified that the magnetic device was ready to activate once it received the necessary commands from the satellite link.  
"OK guys, let's pack up and move to a safe distance. Then we will signal Mars Base to send the activation command sequence." Atom ordered.

The crew boarded the vehicles, no complaints there, it was nice and warm inside the transports that had been left idling with the engines running. It took them about fifteen minutes to get the required distance away. Atom ordered a full stop, and he walked over to the vehicle with the scientific instruments on board. They were needed to monitor the effects once the magnetic field was activated.

"OK Cobalt, we are go for magnetic field activation." Atom radioed.

"Copy you Atom!" Cobalt replied. "Starting the count down sequence, activation in 60 seconds."

Atom started the countdown clock in the lab trailer. He watched as the second hand swept toward zero. The gaussmeter was reading just the normal background, plus any stray magnetic field inside of the trailer caused by its electrical system. As soon as the countdown reached zero the gaussmeter ticked up. Atom felt a ringing in his head, and a slight bit of dizziness. None of the human crew appeared to be affected by the magnetic field.  
"Everything looks good here Cobalt, what are you seeing there?" Atom asked.

"Well the compasses that we were never able to use suddenly pointed north! Other than that, it's like we expected on the ground. I'll check with our observatory and download all of the scientific satellite data and see if they notice anything." Cobalt answered.

"Wait a minute Bro." Atom said. He exited the trailer and looked up at the sky. A blue green glow was starting to form, gradually getting brighter. Atom ran back inside and picked up the handset.

"Hey Cobalt! We've got the beginnings of an Aurora forming overhead in the sky. It looks like the magnetic field is strong enough to capture particles from the solar wind and ionize them!" Atom cried.

"Wow, I didn't expect that! I think we can call this project a success. We'll know more after we get some readings from ground and satellite based instruments. See you back at the base!" Cobalt signed out.


	6. Chapter 6

**Who Mourns for Methuselah?**

**Chapter 6**

**Uran **walked through the cargo hold one last time. The only animals that they had decided to bring along on this trip were herbivore rodents. It had been necessary to transport pre-adult animals due to the length of the trip, and the short life expectancy of most rodents. There hadn't been any qualms about the rabbits, but the mice, rats, and raccoons had been questioned as they were sometimes thought of as vermin. She was relieved to find that they hadn't lost any passengers, all of her cargo were still alive and healthy.

The status reports that Atom had been sending back indicated that the vegetation planted so far was doing well. The oxygen content of the planet was still not high enough in all regions to support larger plants, such as most trees, but it had been decided to send a full selection of seeds and seedlings. She knew that they could start growing the larger plants in hot houses until the atmosphere stabilized. Now that the artificial planetary magnetic field was in place, the atmosphere would begin to thicken.

Mars grew larger and larger in the view port window. Uran guessed that they were only a few days away from landing at this point. She missed her brothers, and was looking forward to their reunion.

* * *

**Cobalt **looked up from the reports that he had been busy filing. Atom stood in front of his brother's desk waiting for the other shoe to drop. He knew what was bothering the base commander.  
"It seems that our problem with our equipment sinking beneath the surface has returned." Cobalt sighed.

"We've been scouting out for the soft spots ahead of sending in the equipment, but within a few days of sounding out an area, the ground beneath where we did so develops a sink hole. It's almost like the very act of sounding out safe areas causes them to cave in under ground. I just don't get it." Atom complained.

"I almost think we were better off not using the sonar to look for problem areas, but I agree with you. It makes no sense at all why that low power sonar can cause the ground to cave in." Cobalt agreed. "Until we get a good handle on the problem, I think we will have to limit our operations. Use the sounding equipment only just before the area is to be worked on, it looks like the cave ins are happening several hours to days after the surveys are done."

* * *

**The transport **ship landed on the main pad in the original section of the Mars base. This was the largest and best equipped landing area, and the heavy transports needed a lot of support. Atom supervised the unloading of the cargo. Several new buildings had been finished just in time to house the animals and plants that had been sent from Earth. Uran was busy checking her manifest as the ship was unloaded. When everything had been accounted for she breathed a sigh of relief. Looking up from her clipboard she saw Atom's smiling face.  
"Hi Sis!" he called.

Uran ran toward Atom and gave him a big hug.  
"You have no idea how glad I am to see you!" She said. "Now take me to my quarters, I need to soak in a hot oil bath for a few hours!"

"Cobalt has arranged for you to have a residence on the other side of the planet where you will be working. However, we've run into some glitches, so for now you will be staying in temporary quarters next to Cobalt and myself. Hopefully, we will get the clearing of the new area back on track soon." Atom said.

A transport shuttle pulled up and the two of them got on board. They soon arrived in the main residential section where Atom and Cobalt shared a suite. Uran's flat was two stories above theirs. Atom gave his sister the keys to her apartment and followed her inside.  
"This is a single unit, but it has most of the same amenities that ours does." The whirlpool tub does hot water and oil. Cobalt made sure it was a robot specific unit before assigning it to you." He said.

"Tell Cobalt thanks when you see him." Uran said. "I'm going to strip and jump into the tub before I even bother to unpack. I'll meet the two of you for dinner later."

**Strictly speaking **the robots didn't need to eat as humans do, but Uran, Atom, and Cobalt had been designed to be able to processes food and extract some energy and needed moisture from it. They also enjoyed the sensations from the texture and taste in the same way that humans do. Eating was more of a social ritual for them on Mars, and it also helped them blend in with the human population. Perhaps it also made it easier for the people working under Cobalt to accept him as their leader.

After her whirlpool bath and first meal on the planet, Uran felt a lot better. Cobalt filled her in on the sink hole problem which had set back the clearing of the planet's far side.  
"You know I wonder if it really is a geological problem at all." Uran said "Although I guess the right word here would be 'Marsological', but you know what I mean."

"What else could it be?" Atom asked. "You don't suspect sabotage do you?"

"No" Uran laughed. "I just wonder if Mars as a secret we just haven't figured out yet."

Cobalt and Atom just looked at each other and wondered what their sister was holding out on. It was clear she had an idea that she might have thought was too crazy to share at this point.

* * *

**Herbert Ketchup** planted the thumper into the ground and walked back to the heavy tractor. He looked at the computer display that was painting the echo trace of the sonar waves being sent deep underground. Everything looked solid for several miles around their current position. Satisfied that the ground ahead would support the weight of their equipment he contacted the rest of the crew in the other two machines and retrieved the thumper and geophone probes. The earth moving crews plowed forward digging into the red Martin soil. Suddenly the ground started to shake beneath them. Ketchup signaled for a quick retreat and then radioed back to the base that they were in trouble. This was the first time that a sinkhole had opened up minutes after finding no trace of instability in the ground.

**Atom and Uran **were in the hothouse unpacking the seedlings that had been brought from Earth. Uran had her inventory list and was checking as each batch of plants were uncrated and set in place. They were almost finished when Atom's personal phone started buzzing its emergency cadence. Atom looked at the phone's screen and read the incoming text message.  
"Shit! Another sinkhole opened up. The crew is in trouble and the nearest help is too far away. I'm going to have to fly over there now!" He said.

"Wait! Take me with you!" Uran yelled as Atom ran out of the hothouse. She grabbed hold of Atom's left shoulder with her right hand as Atom flew off. Atom felt his sister's 50,000 HP grip lock onto his shoulder, just like old times. The two of them flew side by side at Mach speed toward the troubled crew. This time it seemed that luck had been with them. All three of the heavy machines were still upright scattered about a huge hole that had opened in the ground. Ahead of the hole was a large furrow in the soil that seemed to go on ahead for a few miles.

Atom and Uran landed near the lead machine where Ketchup was sitting.  
"What happened?" Atom asked.

Ketchup caught his breath. "I had just retrieved the thumper and started moving my machine forward. The others were following me, when all of a sudden the ground started to shake, and then it opened up just where the thumper had been. A huge black shape emerged from the ground in a cloud of dust and headed away from us at flank speed. Our machines rolled about for a few minutes and we lost visibility until the dust settled." He said.

Uran had already walked ahead and was examining the ground inside the newly created trench.  
"This looks like some kind of animal track." She said. "It actually reminds me of the kind of track left by Earthworms, only much larger. Let's follow it and see where it leads."

Atom first made sure that the crew was OK before agreeing to his sister's request. Then Uran grabbed hold of Atom's shoulder again, and they took off flying above the furrow looking to see if they could catch up with whatever had created it. They flew for a few miles until the track ended at another large hole in the ground.

"It looks like whatever made this track buried itself into the ground." Uran observed.

They landed at the end of the track. The hole in the ground slanted downward at a 20 degree angle into a large tunnel.

"I'm going down there. I think we've just discovered the first indigenous life form of this planet." Uran said. "I need to investigate."

"I don't know if that is such a good idea." Atom quavered. But he knew he wasn't going to convince Uran otherwise so he lead the way. "I'll light up the way for us."

Atom turned on his eye's searchlights and the two of them started downward into the tunnel. The tunnel walls glistened with a slimy substance. There was a clear impression in the soil from the peristalsis of the creature's muscles. They slowly marched downward, the tunnel seemed to go on forever.  
"I'm picking up a scent now." Uran said as she sniffed the air. Atom now smelled it as well. It was a clammy odor, growing stronger as they moved forward. If they had been human, the stench would have caused them to retch by now.  
"Yuck, this smells like Atlas's armpits!" Atom said.

Suddenly Atom's searchlights revealed a huge open mouth with thousands of teeth. The creature had reversed direction and was heading right for them! Atom grabbed his sister and ignited his rockets, with full afterburners. They reached the mouth of the tunnel just inches from the huge creature which reared its head up high into the air in a last vain attempt to snatch them. Atom and Uran looked behind them and they could see what they had been following, it was a huge worm like monster. It's mouth had four jaws that opened up revealed rows and rows of shark like teeth. The creature made a low frequency roaring sound, and then retreated back into the ground.

"Whew! That was close!" Atom cried.

"You realize, this changes everything." Uran told him. "We might have to rethink our Teraforming now that we know this planet has indigenous life."

* * *

**Cobalt **thought about what he had just heard. Uran and Atom waited for their brother to respond.  
"We didn't start to have problems with the worms until we had moved our operations to the far side of the planet." Cobalt said. "Also, it seems that the thumper device might just be attracting the creatures, as might the vibrations of the machines engines. The solution seems obvious. We need to avoid making low frequency sounds that penetrate deep below the surface. Then maybe the worms will stay underground and leave us alone."

Uran didn't wait very long before she responded.

"We don't know how our Teraforming is affecting these creatures. We might be destroying their environment. We can't do that." she said.

"We don't have a choice." Cobalt said. "I've been tasked to complete Teraforming Mars until it can support all forms of Earth life. We've located frozen water sources deep underground, enough water to create a small ocean. Once we've done that we will bring sea life from Earth to Mars as well."

"Why? Just because we can? How vain is that?" Uran demanded.

Cobalt rested his head in his hands with his elbows on the desk. He sighed and raised his head to look at his siblings.

"What I have to tell you doesn't leave this room. You understand?" Cobalt said.

"OK" Atom answered.  
"Sure, now what's the deep dark secret?" Uran added.

"The Earth is dying" Cobalt said. "The oceans have been poisoned beyond reclamation, the atmosphere is filling with greenhouse gases faster than it can be scrubbed. The tipping point was reached decades ago, but the Earth's corporations used their excess profits to bribe officials and bury the facts. The greed of the richest one percent have destroyed the planet. It won't be much longer before it will be obvious to everyone. That's why we are transforming Mars. We won't be able to move the entire population of Earth here, but we can save the Earth's biodiversity. Some scientists think that if left alone the Earth will recover in about ten thousand years, but it will be a nearly lifeless place for almost that long."

Atom and Uran were shocked. "How much longer?" Uran asked.

"Less than a century. Maybe a lot less than that." Cobalt said. "So you see those worms simply don't matter. If we can't work around them, then we will have to get rid of them."

"Is it OK if I study them?" Uran asked. "I might find a way around the problem, and in any case I think we need to document them before they are gone."

"I can't give you much time for that." Cobalt said. "So be careful, and learn what you can. One month, one way or another. No longer."

"Thanks." Uran replied.


	7. Chapter 7

**Who Mourns for Methuselah?**

**Chapter 7**

"**I can't believe you!" **Atom yelled at his brother. "Since when have we ever just thrown in the towel! We can't just abandon mankind and the Earth! And that goes for you too!" he said giving Uran the evil eye.

Uran returned the same glance to Atom.  
"Who says I've given up? I need to study the biology of those worms. Somehow I think they hold the key to all of our problems." She said, walking out of the office.

"Uran's abilities to communicate with animals has always freaked me out." Cobalt said. "If I didn't know better, I'd swear she's already had some kind of ESP contact with those worms."

Atom watched his sister walk out of the office. He face palmed when he realized that he had actually admired her butt wiggle as she walked.  
"You might be right about that, Cobalt. The look on her face when we were in that worm tunnel was strange. Not only that, I don't think she was afraid when we ran into face to face into a worm. I flew us the hell out of there the instant I saw that mouth full of sharp teeth, but Uran seemed calm the whole time. She might have been in telepathic contact with the creature."

Atom paced back and forth.  
"So what the heck are we going to do about this?" He demanded. "We've got the Zeroth and First laws hanging over our heads you know."

Cobalt drummed his fingers on the desk.  
"I've studied the reports from Earth for weeks. The Earth's oceans are now highly polluted from hydro-carbon poisons dumped there from over a century of oil production and shipment. The Exxon Valdez was the tip of the iceberg. BP hid the real truth as to how much oil they lost in the Gulf of Mexico from the Deepwater Horizon accident. Almost HALF of that well's total production capacity is now sitting on the bottom of the ocean. That's enough oil to leave a pool several FEET thick covering the ENTIRE gulf! Those bastards did one heck of a PR spin, let me tell you."

"Wow, I've never seen you like this, Cobalt. You almost never get angry."

"Yeah I guess so. Hey, I could also mention the well blow out off the coast of Saudi Arabia. No one ever heard about that one 'cause the royal family put everyone to death that had any knowledge of it. They lost TWICE as much oil in that one than BP did. Now you add up all of the small scale dumping of toxic wastes over a century and a half and you can see just how mankind has turned the oceans into one huge cesspool."

"And there is nothing we can do about it?" Atom asked.

"I'm afraid not. Hydrocarbons are some of the most toxic stuff to life, Bro. They take years to break down, almost nothing living can stomach them, and when they do break down into simpler molecules the stuff is usually even more toxic. The bizarre thing is that hydrocarbons are formed when the remains of living plants and animals break down over millions of years under extreme conditions. Nature turns harmless carbohydrates into deadly hydrocarbons. If only there were a way to run the cycle in reverse then we could clean up the oceans. The best minds on two planets haven't been able to come up with the answer."

* * *

**Uran **carried three of the thumpers with her as she flew over the waste lands of Mar's undeveloped far side. She had a strap on jet pack on her back so she could fly like her brother Atom. To protect herself from the blowing sand she wore desert garb like the Arab Bedouins on Earth. As a result, a few of the terraforming workers had started jokingly calling her Maud'Dib, after the character in the Frank Herbert, Dune novel.

Like the Freemen in the novel, she wasn't afraid of the giant worms, and had learned how to deal with them using many of the techniques from the story. First she placed the three thumpers at equal-distant points, turned them on and then waited. It usually took less than 15 minutes for a worm to break the surface. She learned that just as in the novels, she could capture a worm by driving a wedge between the folds in the segments of its skin. Once the folds opened up, the worm wouldn't attempt to dive back under the sand because it would injure itself from the friction. She had to hid from view until the worm had moved past her, then she could run up to it and drive the wedge in. She carried a few long poles with the wooden wedges on the ends with her along with the thumpers. The final trick was a pair of metal hooks attached to long ropes. Uran tossed them up and hooked the worm at two places just behind the head. She pulled herself up on the worms back, and then standing just behind its head, was able to ride it across the sand for miles.

She would keep a worm moving until it tired out. Then she was able to draw some of its body fluids and get a tissue sample. Finally, she detached the hooks from its skin, removed the wedges and climbed down from the worm's back. Uran then flew away and allowed the worm to return underground to recover from its ordeal.

She also collected samples of worm poop, belch, and upchuck. While the idea might sound disgusting, Uran needed to understand what the worms ate, and how their bodies processed their meals. That, along with the bio-samples she removed gave her the raw materials needed to understand the Mars sandworm biology.

Towards the end of the month Uran struck pay dirt. She came upon a dying worm that had breached itself. She contacted Atom by radio and gave him instructions. Atom flew to the site carrying the equipment that Uran asked for. They set up a large tent over the worm carcass to keep it from drying out in the sun. The two of them then used the power tools that Atom carried over to dissect the animal. Uran took a large collection of pictures detailing the anatomy of the worm, and they tried to preserve as much of the organs as possible in airtight jars. Now that she had detailed specimens to work with, Uran started the laboratory work to analyze them and come up with the answers that she needed.

* * *

**Cobalt **walked into the building housing Uran's laboratory. The huge space had been built to house earth moving machinery, but was for the present being used as an exobiology laboratory. Lying to one side, and taking up almost half of the space, were most of the remains of a dead Martian sand worm stored in several dozen refrigerated lockers. Uran sat in front of an electron microscope, examining a specimen.

"Yuck, it smells funky in here!" Cobalt said.

"Is the first time you've been in here to check up on my work?" Uran asked.

"I think so. I said I'd give you a month, and I decided not to get in the way until the time was up. Well it's almost up now. So how is your research going?" Cobalt asked. "We need to make a decision quickly about the far side of the planet."

"I'm very close to making a breakthrough discovery. I need a little more time." Uran pleaded.

"What kind of discover, and how much more time." Cobalt asked.

"I've been trying to figure out the metabolic cycle of these worms. They seem to be able to recycle many forms of primitive compounds into forms compatible with higher forms of life." she said.

"Give me an example." Cobalt replied.

"You know that the early exploration of the planet showed it still had some ancient forms of simple compounds of hydrogen and carbon deep in the planets core. Just like on Earth there is frozen methane buried deep underground, where ancient Martian oceans are now frozen."

"Yes, the water supply that we discovered. I know about that." Cobalt said.

"Well, I'm almost certain that the worms can dive deep through the the Martian subterranean to reach those layers. I suspect they thrive on that ancient methane, and other simple hydrocarbons. What they excrete are simple carbohydrates. Humans would get intoxicated if they drink worm piss, it's ethanol."

Cobalt took a few seconds to digest the information. "Can you document this biology in detail? I need the scientific proof on this."

"Yes, but that will take me a few weeks." Uran said.

"You've got it." Cobalt laughed.

"What's going on?" Uran asked. "There's something you're not telling me."

"I'd rather wait till I have the details, but what you've just described to me sounds like the miracle I didn't dare hope for. I think you were right all along. You may have just discovered the secret to saving the Earth!" Cobalt said. Then he did something that he never did in all his life. He gave Uran a big hug and kissed her on the lips.

Atom walked in just in time to see his siblings in a face suck.

"WHOA! Incest! I didn't need to see that!" Atom laughed.

Uran pushed Cobalt aside. "It's not what you think!" She insisted.

Cobalt blushed and looked at his brother innocently. "I was just overcome by the moment. I think Maud'Dib here has come up with a miracle."

"You don't know how appropriate that nickname is" Uran laughed. "Herbert came to my rescue here. His description of the Dune sandworms and the way the Freemen handled them actually apply quite well to the Martian variety. I'd never had been successful with my research on these worms if I hadn't read Dune."

* * *

**Atom **had managed to make some progress with the Terraforming operation during the six weeks that Uran had been doing her research on the Martian sandworms. It was slow going because they had to use passive means of looking for safe passages through the Martian dessert. They also lost some time while the hydrogen diesel engines of the heavy equipment were replaced by fuel cell electric motors, which didn't produce the low frequency vibrations that attracted the worms.

Cobalt had managed to placate the NASA directors on Earth and had been granted a delay in the Terraforming schedule by hinting of a breakthrough discovery that would give Earth some more time. Cobalt was respected enough by the Earth command to get away with such a request, but he knew they'd want concrete facts, and soon.

Just when he thought that his time was up, and Earth command would demand a response from him, Uran walked into his office with the biggest smile on her face. Atom was right behind her, with a grin on his face as well.

"We did it!" Uran said, slamming a stack of looseleaf notebooks, and several optical storage disks on his desk.

"What's this?" Cobalt asked.

"All the gory details." Atom said. "I helped Uran on the computer, we prepared the required data in several formats. It's all here, in hard copy and electric media. You also have it on the network under your home directory."

Cobalt's fingers danced on his computer and quickly found the index file for the HTML formated version of the report. He was a speed reader and absorbed the info as fast as the computer would present it. The expression on his face went from one of a man deep in thought, to that of a kid who had just broken into a candy store. He couldn't contain the grin on his face.

"Holy Moses!" Cobalt said. "I don't believe this!"

Uran grinned and started to explain.

"The Martian sandworms have been living on this planet, in the same form that we see them now for millions of years. I think that they might have been dormant, waiting for the planet to warm up again. We probably woke them from their deep slumber with our exploration and terraforming operations. Their biology is geared to the consumption of raw hydrocarbons which they transform into carbohydrates. I've run the chemistry analysis many times. Their bodies could eat raw petroleum crude and transform it into ethanol or simple sugars. They can survive underwater, they don't have lungs, but rather an organ that resembles primitive gills that can extract oxygen from air or water. If we dump a few hundred of these guys into the Earth's oceans they'll act like the snails and catfish that are used in aquarium tanks to clean up fish garbage. They can process all that oil pollution into harmless carbohydrates. They will reproduce and multiply in the Earth's oceans until all of the pollution is gone."

"Then we have another problem to solve." Cobalt sighed. "We have to figure out how to capture a few hundred worms and transport them safely to Earth."

* * *

**Cobalt **explained Uran's discovery to Earth command. He transmitted all of the data electronically, along with a proposal prepared by Uran and himself to capture several hundred juvenile Mars sandworms and transport them to Earth. It would be necessary to build many giant transport ships and assemble them in Mars orbit. Getting the worms up to the ship would require ferrying them up one at a time. A rush order was placed to convert several 0.7C ships into cargo service. By Cobalt's estimate they could be ready to start transport of the first worms in one Mars year, if the space ship contractors on Earth worked double shifts and over time.

Now it would be up to Uran to figure out how to capture the worms and house them until the transportation was ready. She also needed to figure out how to keep them alive during the month long trip to Earth. The Terraforming operations were not abandoned, but the rush to get that job done was no longer present. Hope for Earth's survival now rested on Uran to deliver the worms, and for their biology to actually be able to undo what man had done to the planet.


	8. Chapter 8

**Who Mourns for Methuselah**

**Chapter 8**

**Uran spent the **next few months tagging worms with radio location markers. She had determined that it was futile to try and capture the worms to keep them in captivity until the transport ships would be ready to bring them to Earth. The worms simply would not survive the treatment. It would be bad enough trying to keep them healthy during the month long journey on a 0.7C cargo ship, but she was sure that problem had a solution. By tagging as many worms as possible, she built up an inventory to determine their numbers, and would be able to locate them quickly when the time came to capture them. It wasn't Cobalt's idea of how to accomplish the task, but he accepted Uran's plan because he knew she was the only expert on Martian sandworms available

Uran needed some help with the project, and Atom wasn't available as he needed to supervise the Terraforming operations. The retrofitting of the earthmoving equipment with the quiet electric fuel cell powered motors was now complete, and he wanted to make up the lost time. Luckily, she found an assistant.

On her second day out in field while tagging worms she came upon a teenage boy who had taken to walking the Martian wasteland, hunting for rare minerals. He wore a tight fitting garment that trapped his body heat and moisture so he wouldn't have to carry bulky survival gear. He carried a small oxygen bottle, but mostly relied on a home designed re-breather that used the same special canisters as on spacecraft life support systems to remove CO2 from his breath.

"What's your name kid, and what are you doing out here in the bad lands?" she asked the boy.

"My name is Paul Leto." he said. "My parents were killed in a spacecraft accident months ago. The authorities wanted to send me back to Earth, but I'd rather stay here. There isn't anything for me back on Earth, I don't have any family back there that I'd want to live with. I was working with the Terraforming crew, until they found out I'm only 15 years old. Now I'm a prospector, looking for some rare minerals."

"It's dangerous out here" Uran said. "You could run into a sandworm."

"You mean like you do, Maud'Dib?" he asked. "I'm not afraid of them."

Uran looked closely at the garment the boy wore.

"Did you make that yourself?" She asked touching the heavy cloth.

"Yeah, I got the idea from the Dune story. It's sorta like a stilsuit. It recycles my breath, sweat, and other wastes as I walk. I don't need to carry as much water and oxygen with me this way."

"Very smart" Uran told him.

"Look, if you need help looking for worms, I can assist you." Paul suggested.

Uran didn't want to have to babysit a teenager who might get in the way, but the boy seemed able to take care of himself. He just might be able to help her.

"OK, we'll give this a try." She said. "But you must do exactly as I tell you. I know how to handle the worms, and you will be safe only if you follow my instructions. Agreed?"

"Yes, I agree" Paul replied.

Together, they walked deeper into the wasteland to tag and inventory the worm population.

* * *

**Cobalt **was about to leave his office for the day, it was getting late and he had been at work for over 10 hours already. Just as he was about to get up from his chair, his computer terminal started blinking as a priority message had been received from NASA deep space command on Earth. At the same time, Uran walked in and waved hello. The incoming message was a recorded video, which Cobalt placed on hold while he conversed with his sister.

"Hello Uran, how's the kid working out?" he asked.

"Paul is actually a big help." Uran said. "I would have thought a human teenager would have been more of a pain than of any use, but he understands the worms as well as I do, maybe even better. I got him checked out on a mini copter so he can fly along with me. The kid would make a top notch pilot, you should keep him in mind for the flight school when he turns 17."

"Very good, glad to hear it, we need to get as many worms tagged as possible. Come here and look at this, a message just came in from Earth, from the description it looks interesting."

Uran walked around and stood behind her brother as he clicked on the play button for the video transmission.

"_Hello Cobalt." _Deep space command director Allen Glen said into the camera. _"Several months ago the deep space tracking system that monitors for potential NEO incoming from the Kuiper belt picked up an object re-entering the solar system at a high velocity. They've been tracking it since then, and after discovering some older images containing the object, they have determined its path and origin. We are looking at something on a hyperbolic orbit that originated from Earth over 70 years ago, and is just now returning to the solar system. It should be crossing the orbit of Mars within a month, and there is a significant possibility of a collision with the planet. We think you should mount an interception mission while it is a distance out. We will keep you advised of any newer data."_

"What the heck is that?" Uran blurted out.

Cobalt read the attached tracking report, scratched his head, and quickly cross referenced an on line NASA database.

"It seems that they have discovered a spacecraft launched from Earth almost three quarters of a century ago. From what I see here there were several experimental deep space missions that could account for this sighting, but something would have had to have gone wrong to account for the orbital path that it is now on. There were a few missions that were lost and unaccounted for from that period of time. This might be one of them." Cobalt suggested.

Uran stared at the back of the room, deep in thought.

"Gosh, its been so long that I'd forgot all about him. Do you suppose …?" she asked.

Cobalt didn't show any emotion, and answered quickly.

"The odds of that would seem low at this point, but you never know. In any case, I'd rather not tell Atom about this quite yet. He's been though enough heartbreak in the past year, I don't want to open up any old wounds for him now. "

* * *

**Paul **banked the 'copter steeply around the circle made by the three thumpers that Uran had just planted. He could see ripples in the sand slowly moving toward the position where Uran was standing.

"Watch out Maud'Dib!" he yelled into his radio. "You've got company coming from the west."

"Thanks, I can see it now" Uran replied back as she adjusted her position.

Suddenly, the sand in the middle of the circle started bubbling as the worm neared the surface. Paul cut the throttle on the 'copter and autorotated it down to soft landing several hundred yards away. He jumped off the aircraft and ran toward Uran, carrying a marker tag.

Uran had already jammed a wedge between the folds of the creatures skin and was hidden from it's senses by a small dune that ran parallel to the worm's path. Paul grabbed the two ropes with the maker hooks attached and swung them over his head like a bolo. Before Uran could stop him, he had hooked the worm and was pulling himself up and mounted the worm just behind its head. The giant turned and ran away from where Uran was hiding from it. She quickly jumped over the dune, the engines in her backpack ignited, thrusting her up and over to the rampaging worm. She landed next to Paul and grabbed the reins from him.

"What the hell are you doing?" She yelled.

"Hey, I've seen you hog tie these critters many times, I wanted a turn at it!" the boy yelled back.

Uran calmed down. Paul had actually been right on the money, she couldn't have done it better herself.

"Yeah, well you got lucky this time." She laughed. "So are you going to tag it or not?"

Paul smiled and walked closer to the animals head. He located the soft spot, just where its neck joints were, held the injector tightly against its skin and pressed the trigger. The locater tag transmitter was locked in place and activated. Uran pulled on the reins and steered the worm to run around in a large circle. When she felt the animal slowing down after an hour or so she signaled for Paul to get ready. She removed the hooks from the folds of skin where Paul had anchored them, and they both jumped overboard. Uran grabbed at the wedge on her way down, yanking it free from between the worm's skin segments. The animal immediately started to burrow back underground and away from them as fast as it could. Uran pulled the portable receiver from her pocket and watched on the graphical screen as it tracked the worms position. That was worm number 73.

They walked back to where Paul had left the 'copter.

"Time to head back. We tagged three worms today. Not bad." She told him.

"So you're not mad at me?" Paul asked.

"I guess not. I didn't think you were ready to ride a worm by yourself yet, but you'll do." She smiled.

* * *

**Atom and Cobalt** sat side by side in the control cockpit of the survey rocket. They had enough supplies to last them both for a few weeks, long enough to catch up with the incoming target while it was still far enough from Mars to safely encounter. The identity of the target was still a mystery, though they now knew that it was not in one piece, having been damaged by a collision in deep space with something else. The spacecraft was now in many smaller pieces. What had once been the command section of the craft, located in the front, was still intact. The propulsion section had been blasted to bits, perhaps it exploded following a collision with a small asteroid or kuiper belt object. Most of the debris was still following the same path as the command section. Cobalt was glad to see that none of the pieces were so large as to be a risk to survive reentry into the Martian atmosphere.

"I can't identify what mission that was from, there isn't enough of it left in one piece to match any profile in my database." Cobalt sighed.

"Well at least it looks like Mars won't be in any danger from being hit by any of this debris" Atom replied. "Now what do we do?"

"Lets get closer and take lots of pictures. Maybe we can identify what we have here later."

As they got closer it appeared that the control module might be mostly intact.

"Do you suppose that there might me some data worth salvaging from the control section?" Atom asked.

"Unless this mission was flown by robots, there are going to be some grossly dead bodies in there." Cobalt said. "It's possible that any info recorded by the on board computers might be recoverable. I think we should try and recover the command section. If we had some strap on retro rockets, we could change its path just enough so that when it encounters Mars it will be captured by the planet's gravity and go into orbit. Then later we can recover it with a cargo ship." Cobalt figured.

Atom got up and walked to the back of the cabin. He located one of the energy canisters they brought along, opened his chest panel, and started to refuel himself. Once topped off, he walked back to his brother.

"I'm game. I can use my rockets to do the job."

"OK, I'll maneuver the ship close enough so that it will be a zero G encounter for you to link up with it. Then you can grab onto the front of it and slow it down. I'll use the computer radar to let you know when to shut down." Cobalt told him.

Atom entered the air lock and waited for Cobalt's signal. His brother adjusted their flight path so they were on an intercept course.

"Get ready." he said. "OK, NOW!"

Atom jumped from the airlock and pulsed his leg rockets once. He easily coasted to the derelict and grabbed hold of it. He waltzed toward the front and started his leg rockets firing.

"So far good!" Cobalt radioed "But it looks like you are going to need to push harder to slow it down fast enough to make Mars orbit."

"I'm giving it all I got!" Atom complained.

He then noticed a round depression in the hull of the craft that was in line where he needed to push. He found he could rest the top of his skull in it and maintain contact. This freed up his hands from having to hold onto the craft. Carefully balancing himself against the target he let go of it and added the thrust from his arm rockets. With four engines blazing Atom felt the pressure against his neck.

"Now you've got it!" Cobalt signaled back. "At this rate you only need 80 more seconds of power and we've got it!"

Cobalt counted down the final seconds. When he reached zero Atom shut down his engines. Cobalt had maintained his distance from the derelict, so Atom had only a short distance to return back to the airlock.

"Perfect!" Cobalt said. "In three days time the front section of that ship will enter Mars orbit. A day earlier we'll have a meteor shower as the rest of the junk passes by the planet. Let's go home.

* * *

**A week later **a large cargo ship took off for orbit and caught up with the derelict. The 'super tanker' had been designed to carry even larger ships into orbit in pieces to be assembled in space. The space merchant marines attached tow lines onto the 70 year old piece of history and brought it on board. Once secured inside, the cargo ship returned to Mars base where Atom and Cobalt were waiting.

Cobalt and Atom entered the cargo hold of the ship. Sitting in the middle of it, with just enough room on all sides, was the charred remains of the front section of a much larger research vessel. There were no recognizable markings to indicate what ship it had been, but Cobalt continued his close examination looking for anything that might help. He seemed to find some tiny numbers embossed into the metal, and busied himself taking photographs and uploading them to his computer.

Atom couldn't find a way inside, but he did locate where the hatch to the missing next compartment of the ship had been. He used his finger laser to cut a hole through the bashed in metal and entered the wreckage. The rear compartment of this section was badly damaged with cables and hoses hanging from the ceiling, and sticking out of the walls. The bodies of two robots were lying on the floor, both had been badly burned. They were humanoid robots, but with extra limbs. They had two sets of arms allowing them to hold onto the external surfaces of the ship during EVA, and still have two hands free to operate tools.

Atom pulled open the door to the front section. It was jammed stuck and required some brute force to open. Inside he saw that this section was in much better shape. All of the instrumentation was intact and it should be possible to download data from the on board computer once it could be powered up.

The robot sitting in the right hand seat was a navigator series. It had several extra sets of eyes so it could read multiple gauges at once. Otherwise it was also basically humanoid in appearance.

* * *

**Cobalt** had found enough markings and was able to cross reference them. They were serial numbers for the external parts of the ship. The computer searched the database and came up with the identification of the mission that it was part of. He couldn't believe his eyes.

* * *

**"COBALT! GET IN HERE!"** Atom yelled. Cobalt already knew what Atom had just seen. He entered the forward section to find his brother in a trance staring at the cockpit area.

Sitting in the left hand seat was the commander of the mission. He was a humanoid robot about Atom's size. Except for being in a deactivated state, he appeared to be in good shape. It was obvious that he must have ran out of energy decades ago. He resembled Atom almost exactly, except for having a single cowlick on the top of his head sticking back.


	9. Chapter 9

**Who Mourns for Methuselah**

* * *

_A.N. This short chapter sorta finishes up the previous one which ended on a bit of a cliff hanger. "Who was that robot?" The more devoted Astro fans should have picked up on it right away, but for those that didn't, I won't keep you in suspense a moment longer. I've still left quite a few unanswered questions hanging, and for that you WILL have to wait a while. I'll be busy with other projects for a while and might not get back to this story till after turkey day._

* * *

**Chapter 9**

**He floated** in the vacuum of non-existence for a very long time. He saw nothing. He felt nothing, not cold, nor heat, nor pain, nor the slightest bit of pressure on his skin. He heard nothing, not even a slight ringing in his ears. His olfactory senses detected nothing, the gyroscopes in his inner ears didn't detect any acceleration or movement. The magnetic sensors in his head provided no information of direction. Not a single neuron in his brain fired. All was in a state of minimum entropy. Every once in a long while however, a short pulse of awareness was somehow triggered. There was no sensation, no thought. He kinda knew that he was. That was it.

Then something changed. The balance shifted and entropy increased as some external energy source entered the picture. Gradually, the temperature of the background seemed to rise above the absolute zero that it had been at for so long. Brownian motion of his synaptic particles began to set in and the background noise level increased from zero to something almost measurable. It was like a hissing noise in his ears, but not exactly. It might be described as a weak acidic taste on his tongue, but that wouldn't have been very scientific either. The background was no longer the inky black, perfect non-radiating surface it had been, but neither did it seem illuminated. It exhibited just the kind of noise you see against your retinas when your eyes are shut, and you have a headache.

He thought he heard his name being called, if that was his name, as he wasn't sure he remembered it anymore. The voice calling to him, if it really was a voice, reverberated in a long period echo. He also thought he felt the pressure of an appendage being squeezed. It wasn't pain, in fact it felt almost reassuring. There was also the sensation of something cool and moist now, just above his eyes, if that was where it was? The slight sensations that had began to pour into his brain became more intense and were quickly overloading him. He had been in a senseless void for too long, and he needed time to adjust. As even more impulses started to invade his senses, panic began to set in. Movement was as yet impossible, he still couldn't feel his body, and he was still disconnected from his muscles. Faster and faster and with greater intensity came new sensory inputs from all sources. He felt like he was spinning as his gyroscopic senses falsely informed him of movement causing the sensation of vertigo to set in. It was all coming together in a sudden rush. He felt the need to cry out for help, his lungs suddenly found the air, and the panic state he was in trigged a primal reaction.

"**WAAAAAAHHHHHHH!**"

The windows of the hospital room shattered and blew outward from the 200db blast of the siren like cry emitted by Titan's vocal cords. Atom and Uran jumped back quickly, Uran releasing her grip from her younger brother's hand. The ceiling tiles fell out of their frames, and the lights exploded, burning out and sending forth sparks of electricity. Doors blew open all down the hallway. The medical instruments connected to the patient threw sparks, blinked, and went dark.

Two doctors ran into the room to find the place in a shambles. It was obvious that the electrical stimulation had been successful, maybe a bit TOO much so. Titan was sitting up in the bed staring out into space. The cool washcloth that had been on his forehead was now sitting in his lap. He slowly turned his head and looked around trying to make sense of his surroundings. The two humanoids closest to him looked vaguely familiar, but nothing else did. He took a deep breath, and slowly let it out (much to the relief of Atom, Uran, and the doctors!).

"Where am I?" Titan asked.

"You're not going to cry out again, are you?" Uran asked.

"Did I do that?" Titan questioned.

"Take a look at this room!" Atom laughed. "I had forgotten about that sonic disruptor of yours."

"Sorry!" he whispered.

Cobalt now entered the hospital room, carefully stepping over the debris on the floor.

"Don't tell me, he woke up screaming, didn't he?" the eldest brother asked, rhetorically.

Titan's memory had recovered a little bit and he finally figured out who he was looking at.

"Cobalt?, Astro?, Uran!" he said, pointing to each of them in turn.

"Close enough." Cobalt said. "I guess you want to know what's happened. I've been trying to piece that together for the past few weeks. Right now, you are in a hospital on Mars. I'm now in charge of the base here." Cobalt waited a few seconds for that to sink in.

"Now here's the hard part. You've been in deep space for over 70 years. You haven't aged much, but the three of us have a good 60 years on you right now."

"Wow!" Titan said. "An Einstein twin paradox."

"Do you remember anything?" Cobalt asked. "I've been trying to download the memory core from the computers on your spacecraft. So far all I've got are bits and pieces. The history books tell me what the mission was supposed to be, but as for what happened six months after you launched, well that is a mystery."

"I'm in a bit of a fog myself." Titan said. "I think I need a little time to let things settle down inside my head. By the way, how long have I been here?"

"We recovered the remains of your spacecraft three weeks ago. You've been lying in that bed since then, slowly being spoon feed energy to reactivate you. The doctors started the electrical stimulation of your nervous system about a week and a half ago." Cobalt said, as his younger brother lifted his rear end up and slid into a more erect sitting posture.

Titan carefully swung his legs over the side of the bed, one at a time. One of the doctors walked up to the bed and started to carefully disconnect the various cables from Titan's inner test points. Once all of the wiring had been removed, Titan closed his chest panel. He now tried putting his right foot onto the floor. He felt the coolness of the ceramic tiles on his bare foot. After transferring some weight onto the leg, he slowly lowered the left foot, and still holding onto the bed with both hands, tried to stand.

Titan manged to take three steps before stumbling, falling into Uran's grip. She grabbed her younger brother in a bear hug and eased him back to the bed.

"I think you're still a little weak there, Chi-Tan" she said.

Cobalt pushed a wheelchair over to the bed.

"If you'd like a little tour of the place, I think this might be a bit safer." Cobalt suggested.

"I guess so." Titan agreed.

The doctors cast a look of concern at Cobalt.

"I'll bring him right back here shortly." Cobalt said. "We're just going to the lounge. We need to talk."

* * *

_A.N. How loud? Well the space shuttle taking off is only 180db. A hydrogen bomb is about 210db. An earthquake measuring 5.0 on the Richter scale is over 300db. Would YOU want to have been in the room with Chi-Tan?_


End file.
